Know your price
by kawaiiyume312
Summary: Each decision we make, every step we take, the way people treat us and what they offer us, is not free. There are always some consequences. Corvo Attano, famous Lord Protector, knows perfectly well that his time to pay will be... his last memory.


This is my first short story in the world of Dishonored.

I'm sorry for any mistakes. I'm trying to improve my English, but, well, since it's not my native language, I still have some problems :/

Anyway, I hope you'll like it :)

**DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own anything related to Dishonored and Bethesda. I also do not own the song "Honor for all" used in the end.**

* * *

Man staggered back against the tall, stony chimney. Trembling all over his body, he fell to the damaged, gray tiles. Four black, haggard crows soared into the air filled with a strange rotting smell. His lungs were on fire – he felt hundreds of small, blazing pins digging into his chest and squeezing the remnants of the greedily captured air out of his organs. His heart was beating like crazy and his vision was blurred. In his eyes the whole world was undulating and merging into one big spiral dotted with dark spots. Suppressing a wave of nausea, he pressed his trembling hand to his lips. The bitter, metallic taste of blood mixed with bile filled his mouth. He spat, closed his eyes and rested his head against the cold chimney. He took a few shaky breaths to calm his galloping pulse.

So this is it. The end of his fate. Few more minutes and then… Then he will be lying dead on the roof of dilapidated house in one of the completely depopulated districts of the capital.

He squinted at Dunwall Tower looming in the distance. Even from far districts one could see the outlines of large, colorful balloons that floated gracefully around the tip of the majestic building. They looked like fluffy ladies spinning in a slow, quiet dance. The tower itself was adorned with beautiful, red cloth, which, though invisible from a distance, was still present in fresh memories of the man.

_Come on, take the final step_, he thought. What are you waiting for?

There was something ironic in the current situation. Over the last few months he've learned to live in the shadows, he've learned to cheat and flee. And now? Now he is sitting on a crumbling roof, illuminated by the rays of the sun piercing through the gray cloud cover. He felt the pleasant warmth on his cheeks. Mask. Or rather, lack of it. All right. If I have to die, I'll die showing my face.

**_Attention! The coronation of the new empress, Emily Kaldwin, will start in two hours._** **_All the streets in the vicinity of the Tower will be closed for the duration of the ceremony. I repeat: all the streets near the Tower will be closed for the duration of the ceremony. _**

Metallic, harsh voice which emerged from all the surrounding speakers, drilled man's ears. Coronation. Emily. His dear Emily. Tears crept into his eyes.

"I am curious... what do you feel, Corvo? Anger, hatred or maybe regret? It is a pity that you will never see her again.", calm, gentle voice with a trace of something otherworldly, sounded just behind his back. Then inconspicuous-looking man with dark hair and extremely pale skin came out from behind a chimney. His incredibly dark eyes resembled two bottomless wells. _There is no going back._

He didn't answer. He didn't have to. The stranger seemed to read his mind.

"From the beginning you knew that retreat is impossible. So why did you run? So pointless... Look at you. Wounded, tired. You made me do this.", he folded his arms and gently shook his head. Despite the fact that his voice carried the reprimand, it was tender. "You fascinate me, my dear Corvo. Always so stubborn, always against everything and everyone."

Lord Protector coughed. His body seemed to consist of mismatched parts. He had no strength to move. A mark on the outside of his hand was on fire. Its outlines were etched into the skin and filled with burgundy streaks of blood.

A sudden sound of trumpets pierced the air. The coronation was about to begin.

"Do you think someone is looking for you? Did Emily find your suicide note? Masked Felon cleared of all charges gets back his Lord Protector's office and on the day of new empress' coronation commits suicide... Doesn't that sound bitter? Doesn't that sound selfish?", dark-haired man's expressionless eyes were fixed on coughing, shivering Corvo.

"And most of all... doesn't that sound cruel? Emily is just a child.'', he continued.

Corvo licked his dry lips and closed his eyes. Blurred images began to dance on the inside of his eyelids. The events of recent months, last week, that day. After the death of Havelock his name was immediately purified from all the accusations and he was restored to his position. He was again a free, respectable man. He always stood at the side of the future empress. Everything was slowly returning to normal, and he finally got used to the new situation. There was only one small "but". The mark. Mark on his hand. It was constantly reminding him of its presence. It was tempting him, whispering in an unfamiliar language and causing terrible nightmares. Corvo was sure that it was trying to say: "You will never run away from me. Never. I will not let you forget."

"Finish it. ", he whispered. His voice was hoarse and tired but also firm. "Just finish it."

Something that looked like pity flashed in fathomless eyes of a dark-haired man.

"I see… well, I must say you were the most interesting man I ever was able to observe.", he said.

"_You were_."_ So now there is no doubt. What waits for you is… just emptiness._

He felt nothing but relief and a strange, stinging pain in his heart. From the very beginning, he knew that the gift, which was given to him by the Outsider, could not be free. But he never expected the debt repayment time so fast.

When he woke up that morning, he knew before anything happened. His mark was hot. It was pulsing and talking to him. Wild stream of words stabbing his heart and head and giving him an awful headache. There really was no escape. The debt must be paid.

**_Attention! Lord Protector disappeared under the strange circumstances. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to report to the Guard Headquarters in Dunwall Tower. _**

"It seems that Emily found your letter, my dear Lord Protector.", said Outsider. The emphasis on the last two words sounded urging.

Unpleasant pain in the Corvo's heart began to grow. It was a strange, twitching feeling.

Isn't it funny? Earlier they wanted to catch him and send him off to die; and now… now they are trying to prevent his suicide. Maybe his actions were stupid? Maybe he shouldn't have left this letter and shouldn't have run away… No... it was his only option. Whatever Outsider wanted to do, Corvo wasn't going to let Emily witness his behavior. In the morning, shortly after realizing that the day of payment has come, he took the yellowed sheet of paper and quickly wrote few simple, chaotic sentences.

_Emily!_

_You do not know how hard it is to write this letter. I wish I had stopped the flow of painful words, but I think… it is too late. I do not want to lie to you any longer, my dear sunshine. Everything I have ever done has taken a terrible toll on me. I am tired, and I am aware of the fact that nothing in this world will ever give me ideal rest. That's why I have to go… to the place where the weight on my shoulders and my heart will disappear. I hope that one day you will understand and forgive me._

_Corvo. _

He put the note on her bed. Then he opened the window and started running as fast as he could. As soon as he reached one of the abandoned districts, he was caught by Outsider.

''Do not worry. In the Void you will find your desired peace.'', Outsider's soft voice sounded soothing. Corvo's eyelids grew heavy like lead. He felt a sudden drowsiness. ''Farewell."

Lord Protector slowly fell to the ground. The stinging smell of mould covering the old tiles stung him in the nose. He clenched his burning hand and began to mentally prepare for the worst. Suddenly, stabbing pain attacked his chest. It was the last sensation he experienced in his life. His clenched hand relaxed. Red streaks of blood flowing from the places where the nails dug into, rolled down to the gray roof. His brown irises faded, staring somewhere into the distance.

Outsider's expression remained unchanged. He walked to the deceased and crouched down beside him. His hand rested on Corvo's chest. Slender, pale fingers smoothly touched the place where his heart was.

_Oh well, honor for all  
Of the big and the small  
Well, the taller they stand  
Well, the harder they fall_

Outsider's quiet, barely audible words merged with the howling wind...


End file.
